I get sent a lot of stuff via the email. Being a zero Inbox
kinda guy, I process and respond near instantaneously. So jokes and chain
letters and the latest cat meme and such don’t usually get much of a look in.

But I was sent an X-factor video by someone who does not
usually waste time with those things and one thing led to another. Via a
Chinese-Australian 6-year old whizzkid playing Flight of the Bumblebee (of all
pieces) on Australian x-Factor, I
eventually landed on the Korean X-Factor ended up watching this video above.

Be
prepared to have your heart strings tugged, but that is not quite the point.

What struck me wasn’t that he is homeless. Or how the show
translates to different cultures. (A universal desire for fame and all that.)
The thing that caught me surprise was the genre that he chose to sing.

I can tell you that I am not a fan of K-Pop in general; not
even the westernised version of Psy in particular (despite 1.7 Bn views of
Gangnam). And it is not as if I did not know that opera exists in most
countries - It was just a forceful reminder of a universal truth.

Really authentic, really good, proper music is timeless and
transcends gender, race, culture, and socio-economic status. The fads of
Gangnam style may make you rich. But pure artistry is not often a comfortable
bed mate to fame.

Would you rather die rich or live your art?

I guess the answer to that question will tell lot about you
and how you do business. (And of course I am not talking about music or even
the ‘arts’. I am talking about the timeless, classical equivalent of the song
that your life dances too. Just in case it needed saying. Pun intended.)